Hello! (26 October 2014)

Howdy, Me Fellers.

Sorry I got on so late today. We had a lunch with some Japanese people. Hahaha. I ate many things. Ha. But I also am recovering from food poisoning. I had the worst 6 hours of my life 2 days ago in the middle of the night. Don't worry. I am fine now, but I will tell you about it. 

It started around 10PM with some abdominal pain. It felt like a strong pressure and it would just pass. But it never did. And then I just threw up 8 times and laid coiled over in the bathroom for 6 hours. It was the worst pain I have ever felt. But I guess it makes a good story. I thought I was going to die. But don't worry. I was in contact with my mission president who is a general surgeon the whole time. So I wasn't actually going to die. But I was out for a while after that. That was my near death experience for the mission. I hope it is the last. I think it was my own fault. I think I got infected while cooking. I should stop licking the chicken before I cook it.

Also. I just reapplied to college. It made me so trunky! I just love college so much. And they have a new degree at UT that I am 77% done with. But it is actually more than that. I could be done in like 18 credit hours, I think. What the heck! But it will take longer depending on the minor I take. Anyways. I can deal with that later. 

What else happened this week? Our investigators are kinda butts lately. Hahaha. But they are fine at the same time. I just have to be patient. Also, I started learning Chinese because we have lots of Chinese people we are teaching and meet lots of Chinese people all the time. It is so hard. But Korean is still harder! Hahaha.

Lately I have been thinking about reality. And how written records and things in the past can seem less real sometimes. But they are just as real as the things happening in this current exact moment. The prophets lived and Christ lived. His suffering was real no matter how much we don't feel it in the current moment. But we can feel it. And that is the job of the Holy Ghost and our experiences. 

I love you all! Keep me in your prayers! 

Love, 

Renfroe Jangno

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Hello, Me Lovebuns. (19 October 2014)

Hello from Hangook. That is Korea in Korean. Ha.

This week was great. I got a new companion. His name is Elder Jared Thompson. He doesn't have a home because he has moved a lot in his life. But his family lives in Florida right now. He is pretty fun. We are having a good time. He is both slightly skinnier and taller than me. Ha. 

Apparently you can't wear green hats in China. It means your wife will have an affair. Ha. We learned that from our Chinese friend. Speaking of China, we had a miracle this week. We found a new investigator who has a baptismal date already. He is really great. He is from China and has always wanted to have a religion, but didn't really know where to start because there are so many. 

We taught lots of lessons this week. And had lots of fun. The weather is great and the leaves are starting to change colors! Yellow ginko leaves everywhere!

We had the primary program at church on Sunday. It was really cute. Little Korean kids. Hahaha. The cutest part was these three American kids in our ward that can speak Korean. When they spoke everyone was just like woooooooooo!!!!! It was adorable. They are so good at Korean. One of them is like 3. Hahaha. 

I have really been thinking about the Gift of the Spirit lately. It is such a gift! We are blessed so much by it. We can have the presence of God with us to confirm truths to our soul on a personal level. It is merely dependent upon our asking and our obedience. He is there. 

Anyways! I love you! Keep Praying for me. I pray for you everyday! 

Love, 

Elder Renfroe

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Hello! (12 October 2014)

This week was pretty crazy! But it was pretty good as well. 

Our investigator didn't get baptized yet. But I still think he will. He sent us a text that said "I want to be baptized."  But his back hurts a lot and he is having a really hard time right now, so It didn't work out this weekend. But hopefully sometime soon. 

We watched conference this last weekend and we had a little breakfast beforehand on Saturday morning. It was really good. I made a French toast casseroly thing and biscuits and sausage gravy, and lots of other stuff. An American guy in our ward provided many of the ingredients, but we prepared it all. It felt like America! Hahaha. 

Also, another one of our investigators took us out for dinner. It was really nice and filling. He bought us so much food! He is a really nice guy. His wife has passed away and his only daughter lives in France married to a Frenchman. We found out all of this at dinner. Ha. But he seems to be progressing very well, and has made some really good friends in the ward. 

My companion is being transferred and I am getting someone I already know and actually is already in the same area as me, he is just going to be my companion now. Ha. Anyways. His name is Elder Thompson. He is slightly taller than me, or the same height if I stand up correctly. Not sure which. Ha. And skinnier than me. These are his last two transfers, so if I am with him until he goes home, I will have 2 transfers left at that point. Ha. I have 24 weeks left! 

This morning I studied a few things, but something that stood out to me was a scripture in Matthew 11:28-30. Most people know it. But it gives instruction on how to find rest from our labors. Relief to those that are are heavy laden. I definitely feel that way sometimes. But His invitation is to take His yoke upon us. Take upon us His purposes and work with Him. I don't imagine that we would pull His yoke alone. But that He would be there with us. And we learn of Him. As we step side by side with the Savior and do what He would do. That is how we find rest from our labors and relieve our heavy burdens. We learn of Him. 

But anyways. I love you all! Keep me in your prayers!

Love, 

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Weeeeeeeeeek a lot. (5 October 2014)

Hello! This week was hectic! I hear that is what the cool kids are saying nowadays. Instead of saying crazy they say hectic. Is this true? Huh? 

We have three people with baptismal dates. One of them will hopefully get baptized this weekend. Maybe on Sunday after Conference. The other one is a funny Chinese man. Hahaha. He is kind of a pain. Ha. Very... Difficult. But who knows. The other one is this man that feels like all churches are fallen, so he is looking around. He is really good, and has been friend-shipped by the members a lot. So, that is great. 

We had a ward picnic that lasted for forever. Hahaha. And I talked to a guy that was from Israel. There is an Israeli Embassy here in Korea. He was super tall. And one of our members brought him to the picnic. It was him and his family. They kept speaking Hebrew to them. It was great! I should learn Hebrew. After I learn more German and Spanish and Japanese and Chinese. Hahaha. 

We had a guy that was meeting with us that was really good, but apparently we had the wrong phone number. So we weren't able to meet with him for like 3 weeks. But he called us randomly the other day. So that was our little miracle this week. I was pretty sad about that. But now we are back in contact. 

That has happened with 2 other people we were meeting with and they were actually really good too. But they just dropped off the face of the world. Sad. 

Anyways. One of the things I am definitely learning is perspective. There is so much more than just what we are doing right now. We are now in the temporary processes that we can't quite see the eternal end for. We are growing and developing under the hands of the Gardener. We can't see it now, but we can have faith in Him and trust Him. The very difficult things we are experiencing right now are the very things which help us to grow into who He wants us to be. 

Anyways. I love you! 

Keep me in your prayers!

Hello! (28 September 2014)

Sorry I didn't get to write anything last week! I didn't have much time and our email times have been really weird lately. Today I had to email really late because of a leadership meeting.

This week was kind of a hard week. But we got through it. We are still meeting with some good people and it has been good. 

We had a really good meeting today. We are focusing on the gospel of Jesus Christ this month. But specifically on enduring to the end. We talked about seeing the end from the beginning. It is a really interesting concept. And about feeling successful even if we don't see results. The medical advisor missionaries came and visited us from Tokyo. One of the sister's shared her conversion story. She met missionaries when she was 14. Before she met them for the first time, she remembers seeing the missionaries on the street before they entered her neighborhood and everyone hiding and acting like they weren't home. She would hide under the bed and in the closet or whatever. But one time she was home alone. And without even thinking, she went to the door. And she saw it was the missionaries. She paused in fear. Hahaha. They saw her and now she felt like she had to answer the door. Anyways she let them in and they taught her about the restoration of the church. She felt it was true and was excited to learn more. They agreed to meet again. But when her parents got home, she was all excited to tell them about the wonderful things she had learned. Her parents said... I hope you didn't invite them back. She lied and said she didn't. Fearing her parents would get upset. Anyways those missionaries did come back, but they weren't home. She never saw those missionaries again. She only met them for those 15 minutes. Doesn't remember their faces or names. They know nothing about what has happened in her life, that she was baptized 5 years later after asking her parents 5 times. But the point is this. We never know the end from the beginning. And we won't be able to. The important thing is not the results that we see. But simply the good that is done. 

We met a man that believes he is the Emperor of America. He is cray cray. He said he is the blood father of all LDS missionaries. He also wrote an epistle to our church saying that he wants to retranslate the Korean Bible and is planning to establish our church in North Korea. 

I also got spit on this week while I was running in the morning. But it was an accident. Ha. 

I met a Swiss German dude who is pretty sick. A Norwegian guy. A guy from the United Arab Eremites. I meet so many Muslims. They are such good people! And I also meet lots of Koreans. 

Anyways! I love you all! Keep me in your prayers! 

Love, 

Elder Renfroe